The inspiration for a new business venture can come from anywhere. In the case of Tom Revill, the founder of Plank Hardware, it was the refurbishment of a new flat. “We’d spent all our money on the flat but still needed to add some unique character to it. So, we decided to make the furniture out of reclaimed wood but couldn’t find the hardware finishing touches that we wanted. After that disappointing search, we decided to design our own range of knobs and handles. We worked hard to make and source the right details to go with our designs. We were so happy with the final pieces that we started making and selling them to friends, family and online.”
The very experience of Tom throughout the refurbishment of his own flat has highlighted the apparent market need for Plank Hardware. The uniqueness of this brand however also stems from the very approach taken by Tom and his colleagues. “We take the time to consider the small details that make a big difference. We pride ourselves on in-house designs that inspire our customers to get creative in their spaces.”
When you build something great, you need to protect it, or at least that’s the philosophy encouraged by Trama and shared by Tom Revill. “Brand protection feels like an essential part of building an e-commerce business. We’ve seen it go wrong for other brands who haven’t addressed it early in their journey. As a start-up, we’ve invested everything into our products and building our brand, so protecting that is really important to us.”
“We came across Trama when we were looking to file an EU trademark for Plank Hardware. The rules around protecting the IP had just changed due to Brexit. We wanted to take some advice and work with a reliable partner to help us protect our brand. The team were really helpful and informative and as a new business, made us feel like we were in good hands straight away. Working with Trama was very seamless and we were able to submit our trademark quickly. I would definitely use them again for more of their services.”
